The Sins of Our Fathers
by Paimpont
Summary: First year Hogwarts students Albus, Scorpius, and Rose stumble upon a murder mystery from their parents' time at Hogwarts. Why was the murder hushed up all those years ago? And do their parents know more about it than they are letting on?


**~The Sins of Our Fathers~**

**Rated: T**

(_for violence and past murder) _

**...**

**Summary: **_First year Hogwarts students Albus, Scorpius, and Rose stumble upon a murder mystery from their parents' time at Hogwarts. Why was the murder hushed up all those years ago? And do their parents know more about it than they are letting on?_

_..._

**Author's Note: **

This story was previously deleted. This is an edited re-posting of the first chapter.

_The ages of the Next Generation Hogwarts students have been the subject of much speculation. The ages used here are compatible with the scant information given in the Epilogue to the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but not necessarily with the forthcoming film version of that scene. In this fic, Albus Severus Potter, Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, and Lorcan and Lysander Scamander (Luna's sons) are first year students; James Potter and Roxanne Weasley (daughter of George and Angelina) are in second year; Molly and Lucy Weasley (Percy's children) are twins and in third year along with Bill and Fleur's son Louis Weasley; Bill and Fleur's daughter Dominique is in fifth year, and Victoire Weasley (daughter of Bill and Fleur) and Fred Weasley (son of George and Angelina) are in their seventh year. And yes, I have taken a few small liberties with the epilogue._

**_..._**

**~Chapter 1~**

_September 1, 2017._

Harry Potter swore.

The oath he uttered was so vile and so utterly obscene that several of the people who crowded the platform that September day turned and gaped at him in disbelief. His wife fixed him with a cold stare, while his three children looked at him with absolute delight. Their calm, kind father, swearing like an Irish Quidditch player! Sure, he had occasionally let slip a mild reference to one or the other of Merlin's saggy body parts over the years, but _this-_! James and Albus grinned at each other.

"_Harry!_" Ginny Potter gave her husband what the boys secretly referred to as her _"Crucio_ glance"_._ "How can you use language like that - and _in front of the children_?" She covered her young daughter's ears with her hands.

"Don't, Mum!" Lily Luna squirmed away. "I want to hear what Dad is saying!"

Harry Potter was staring, wide-eyed, at the doorway to Platform 9 3/4, and Albus could see another oath forming on his father's lips.

Ginny Potter followed her husband's glance. She sighed. "Yes, Harry. Draco Malfoy is here with his wife and little Scorpius. So what? Seriously, Harry, it's time to put old rivalries behind you. There is no reason use foul language just because Draco Malfoy is seeing his son off to school."

"It's not the Malfoys I'm concerned about." Harry Potter's voice sounded oddly strangled. "It's the family next to them..."

Albus craned his neck to see better. Two families had just stepped onto the platform. The tall man with white-blond hair must be the fabled Draco Malfoy, his father's boyhood archrival who had been featured in so many of the great tales from his parents' Hogwarts days. Mr. Malfoy was accompanied by a very elegant lady and a small boy who looked almost exactly like his father. The Malfoys all looked frightfully aristocratic and aloof, just like Albus had always pictured them. The family next to them, on the other hand, looked decidedly homely and uncomfortable. A chubby boy of around Albus' age was accompanied by a large man in an ill-fitting Muggle suit, an equally large woman with a cheerful smile, and a thin elderly lady with a grim expression on her face.

"Who are they?" whispered Lily Luna. "Are they dark wizards, Dad?" She glanced hopefully up at her father.

"Not exactly, no." Their father's voice still had that strange half-choked sound to it.

The large man looked around the platform with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he caught sight of the Potters, and he brightened visibly. He pushed his way through the crowds, with his flustered family trailing behind him.

"Harry!" The man stopped in front of the Potters, wheezing a little. "I was sort of hoping to run into you. It's been a long time, Harry."

"Not... not long enough..." whispered Harry Potter.

"Harry!" Ginny poked him sharply in the side. "What has come over you today, darling? Why don't you introduce us?"

Harry looked wearily at the family in front of him. Then he sighed. "Ginny, this is my cousin Dudley Dursely. Dudley, this is my wife Ginny."

"A pleasure, ma'am!" Dudley beamed at Ginny. "This is my wife Heather." He indicated the large smiling lady by his side.

"Your _cousin, _Harry?" Ginny stared at the large beefy man. "_Here_? At Platform 9 3/4? But I thought your cousin was a Muggle..."

Dudley Dursely chuckled. "A bit of a surprise, isn't it, Mrs. Potter? Heather and I could hardly believe it when little Dedric started doing all that amazing stuff. Flying toys, enchanted video games, that sort of thing. We always knew he was gifted, of course, but it took us a while to realize that he was _magical_. Mum had the hardest time believing it too, didn't you, Mum?" He turned to the thin, blonde lady by his side.

"Yes, I did." The lady's voice was frosty. Her mouth was set in a thin line, and she looked around the platform with a shudder.

"This is my aunt Petunia, Ginny." Harry Potter sounded as if the admission pained him. His glance flickered to the platform entrance. "Uncle Vernon, is he coming too?"

Aunt Petunia stared coldly at him. "Your uncle is unfortunately no longer with us, Harry. He died of an apoplectic stroke eight years ago. Right around the time Dudley and Heather discovered dear little Dedric's _talents._"

"Ah." Harry Potter pondered this for a moment. "I'm...er... sorry?"

Aunt Petunia snorted and looked away.

"Are these your children, then, Mr. Potter?" Heather Dursley beamed at James, Albus, and Lily, and Harry introduced them with what Albus felt was a distinct air of reluctance.

"Are they all going off to Hogwarts, then?" Dudley Dursley regarded them with enthusiasm. "Oh, perhaps not the little one; she is a bit too young, I suppose. But the boys are both going, I take it?"

Harry nodded silently.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" chirped Heather Dursley. "Then Dedric will have some little cousins to look after him, show him the ropes as it were."

"_Third_ cousins," muttered Harry Potter indistinctly. "And it's Albus' first time to Hogwarts; I don't think he can be of much help at all. And James has a very busy schedule. Quidditch practice, you know."

"Oh, nonsense, Harry!" Dudley Dursley slapped his cousin cheerfully on the back. "Your boys have been raised as wizards! They probably know tons of magic lore already. Dedric here didn't know anything about the wizarding world until he got his letter, telling him how special he was. I told him all the bits and pieces I remembered about you, of course, but Dedric has never met any other wizards before. I'm sure your little Albus has a lot to teach him during the first few weeks at school. Now, Dedric is an unusually bright child, so he will catch on in no time! I'm sure they will be great friends!"

Albus looked doubtfully at Dedric Dursley, who was chewing serenely on some sort of weird Muggle candy that produced large pink bubbles that popped from his lips at intervals.

"And your oldest boy will take little Dedric under his wing, of course!" Heather Dursley sounded very happy at the thought.

James glanced hastily around the platform, spotted his best friend Noah Goldstein in the distance, and vanished so fast Albus began to wonder whether his father had finally relented and lent him the Invisibility Cloak after all.

"Isn't James even going to let us kiss him goodbye?" Ginny sounded hurt.

"Albus! Albus!" A girl with flaming red curls came running over to them, followed by her parents and her little brother.

Albus grinned at his cousin Rose Weasley. She was wearing her brand-new robes, just like Albus himself. Albus and Rose were great friends, and it was a relief to see a familiar face in the sea of unfamiliar students.

Ron Weasley, Rose's father, greeted the Potters with enthusiasm and glanced over at the Malfoys. "So that's little Scorpius? Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Scorpius? That's a strange name." Dedric Dursley stared at the Malfoys.

"Isn't it?" Ron Weasley grinned at Dedric. "Are you a first year student, too?"

Dedric nodded solemnly and popped another pink bubble. Mr. Weasley stared at him in fascination.

"Are you sure you have all your books, Rose?" Rose's pretty mother began to fuss over her daughter. "I did write to Professor Longbottom as you asked, and he will give you permission to enter the Restricted Section in the library any time you want. Now, remember, the Sumerian section is in the back left corner, by the window. Did you remember to pack your Sumerian dictionary, sweetie?"

"Of course I did, Mum." Rose rolled her eyes impatiently. "Not that I'll need it; I memorized it all last summer anyway. Along with the Aramaic dictionary, the course textbooks and the vintage French Grimoire you got me for my my birthday."

The Malfoys were within earshot now, and Albus noticed the slightly panicked look on Scorpius Malfoy's face as he overheard Rose's remarks.

"You'd better get on the train, children." Ginny Weasley kissed Albus tenderly on the cheek, and Harry ruffled Albus' already messy hair. Harry Potter hugged his son fondly. "Bye, Al. Don't forget that you and Rose have been invited to tea at Hagrid's on Friday. Say hello to Nearly Headless Nick from me, and whatever you do, _don't_ mess with Peeves."

"Dad?" Albus whispered softly into his father's ear. "Dad, what if I'm sorted into Slytherin?"

He glanced anxiously into his father's kind face, but his father smiled. "Then," said Harry Potter softly, "Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student. Remember, it doesn't matter to us which house you are in, Albus. But if it matters to you, you can always ask the Sorting Hat to take your choice into account. It did for me..."

"What?" Albus stared, wide-eyed, at his father. He had never imagined that the Sorting Hat could have considered, even for a moment, sorting his brave father into any house other than Gryffindor. "Was it going to put you in Ravenclaw, then?"

His father laughed. "No, Albus." He leaned down and whispered in his son's ear: "It was going to put me in Slytherin."

Albus blinked up at him in disbelief.

"Hurry up, Albus! All the good spots will be taken!" Rose tugged at his sleeve.

Albus, Rose, and Dedric scrambled onto the train. The magnificent scarlet steam engine was teeming with students of all sizes, from tall, dignified prefects to tiny first years. Almost all the compartments were full of chatting, laughing students. Finally, Rose managed to find them a compartment with three empty seats. Albus saw that the pale flaxen-haired Scorpius Malfoy had already found a seat over by the window. Two tiny blond boys with angelic faces sat opposite him; they appeared to be identical twins. They were even smaller than Lily Luna, and they looked so frail and delicate that Albus felt an instant urge to protect them from any danger, including, if necessary, the young Malfoy. Could these small children really be first year students? Surely, they must be far too young?

The two small boys noticed his glance and smiled serenely up at him.

"It's all right," said one of them.

"We _are_ eleven, honest," said the other. "We are just small for our age." Their voices were delicate as well, like tiny little silver bells.

Albus sat down, hesitantly, next to Scorpius Malfoy. The two boys glanced uncertainly at each other for a moment. _Scorpius Malfoy. _Albus had secretly been rather thrilled to learn that Draco Malfoy's son would be in his year, rather than James'. Albus had always loved his father's tales about Hogwarts, and especially his stories about besting the Slytherin students at every turn. And Scorpius' father, Draco Malfoy, had appeared in so many of the Potter family legends that the Malfoys had come to represent the very essence of the despised Slytherin House in Albus' mind. And here _he_ was, Albus Severus Potter, sitting on the Hogwarts Express, next to a Malfoy of his own! He wondered if he and Scorpius would be mortal rivals, as their fathers had been. Maybe they would face each other on the Quidditch pitch, as Albus would snatch the golden snitch from right under Scorpius Malfoy's nose. Maybe he, Albus, would come across Scorpius Malfoy tormenting young and helpless children, such as the frail little boys sitting across from them, and teach the Slytherin a lesson he wouldn't forget in a hurry. Maybe...

Albus' pleasant daydreams were interrupted by a slight sniffle from the boy next to him. Scorpius Malfoy covered his face quickly with a handkerchief and turned the sniffle into a cough. Albus looked at him in disbelief. He wasn't... _crying_ was, he? No, that couldn't be right. Malfoys weren't homesick, surely, even when they were first years? Malfoys didn't cry; they sneered.

"I've got a cold," said Scorpius quietly.

Rose was leaning out of the window. "Oh, look, there is cousin Victoire! I spoke to her over the holidays; she was so terribly pleased that she was made Head Girl this year." She indicated a stunningly pretty girl in school robes on the platform.

"There is a Head _Girl_?" Dedric Dursley wrinkled his nose.

"_And_ a Head Boy. There are also prefects, two from each house, beginning with the fifth year students." Rose seemed to know everything.

"Who's the Head Boy, then?" asked Albus, wondering if it was someone he had heard of.

"Oh, didn't you _know_? I would have thought your parents would have told you." Rose looked at him in wonder. She sighed. "Well, my parents were a bit surprised and concerned when they heard. My father said that whoever decided to make my cousin Fred Weasley Head Boy at Hogwarts needs a check-up at St. Mungo's very urgently."

There was a little squeal from the small twin boys.

"Did you say _Fred Weasley_ will be Head Boy?" whispered the twin to the right.

"Fred Weasley is like a _god_ to us..." breathed the one to the left. "We read his column in The Quibbler every month. "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes for a New Generation". It's _fabulous!_"

"It's taught us everything we know," agreed the first twin. "Oh, I'm Lorcan Scamander, by the way, and this is my brother Lysander."

The other students in the compartment introduced themselves to each other as well, as stiffly and politely as if they were grown wizards rather than eleven year olds. Albus supposed that it was the official school robes they were wearing and the general solemnity of going off to Hogwarts for the first time that made them act so formally towards one another. Dedric and Scorpius even shook hands.

Then they sat and looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments as the train began to move out of the station. Albus had a feeling he should be making conversation of some sort, so he turned to Rose. "What about the professors? Do you know who our teachers will be?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Well, let's see. Professor Peorth will be teaching Ancient Runes, of course. I have been looking forward to working with her; she is _such _a well-known authority on the subject. Professor Binns, the ghost teacher, teaches History of Magic. He's been there for quite a long time, I think. The Divination professor is Lavender Brown. My Mum rolled her eyes when she saw her name on the book lists, but I don't know why. She said she didn't want to talk about it. Mr. Hagrid teaches Care of Magical Creatures, of course; he's a great friend of both my parents and yours. And so is Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher; I've met him several times already. And someone named Oliver Wood is the new Quidditch teacher; the old one retired at the end of last year."

"Oliver Wood?" Albus' face split into a wide grin. "Awesome! He used to be a famous Quidditch player before he got injured in the match against..."

"What I don't know," continued Rose, who appeared to take very little interest in Quidditch, "is who the new Headmaster or Headmistress will be. Professor MacGonagall retired last year, so there must be a new head."

"Oh, wait - I think I know." Scorpius spoke up quietly from his corner. "My father has many friends in the Ministry, and he said he heard something about the new Headmaster at a Ministry gathering last week. Apparently, it's quite a controversial appointment. The new Headmaster is a young and relatively unknown wizard by the name of Lee Jordan..."

The Scamander twins sat up straight in their seats now, their bright blue eyes glittering.

"_The_ Lee Jordan?"

"The inventor of the self-igniting marshmallow?"

The twins stared at each other in delight.

Rose groaned. "_Lee Jordan? _Uncle George's friend? This will be an... interesting year."

...

"Don't worry, children," said Professor Longbottom kindly. "You will do just fine." He smiled reassuringly at the first year students who were gathered in the entry hall. In a moment, they would step into the Great Hall and be sorted. Albus could see the golden light from the Great Hall's many enchanted candles through the doorway.

Albus swallowed, hard. Surely, dreams didn't _always_ mean something, even in the wizarding world? Yes, his father had had all sorts of significant dreams as a boy, but that didn't mean that all of Albus' nighty dreams would come true as well. All those nightmares he had had recently about being sorted into Slytherin probably didn't mean anything... Or did they? Albus glanced quickly over at Scorpius Malfoy, who looked even paler than before. Oh, Merlin, what if he ended up in Slytherin with Scorpius Malfoy? Sure, his father had said that it would be all right, but Albus knew that it wouldn't. Not really. His parents would probably be terribly nice about it though, and smile a lot and tell him in unnaturally cheerful voices that it didn't matter to them at _all_ that their child was sorted into Slytherin, but they would probably cry in each other's arms when they were alone, and wonder where they had gone wrong in raising him...

One by one, the first year students stepped up to the Sorting Hat.

"Avery, Aldous"

_"Slytherin!"_

A rousing cheer went up from the Slytherin table. Albus fiddled nervously with the edge of his robes.

"Carrow, Erida."

_"Slytherin!"_

Carrow? Albus remembered the name well from his father's harrowing tales of the Battle of Hogwarts. The Carrows had been a particularly nasty pair of death eaters, hadn't they? Albus closed his eyes. _Please, please, please don't let me end up in Slytherin!_

"Dursley, Dedric."

_"Hufflepuff!"_

Maybe Hufflepuff wouldn't be so bad? Dedric was apparently distantly related to him; maybe they would find a way to get along. _Just not Slytherin!_

"Flint, Halia."

_"Slytherin!"_

"Goyle, Garrett."

_"Slytherin!"_

Albus peeked nervously through the door to the Great Hall. Merlin, how many Slytherin students were there? He had a vague sense that the Sorting Hat had called out the names of the other houses as well, but he hadn't really been paying attention.

"Lestrange, Cepheus."

_"Slytherin!"_

Was it just Albus' imagination, or was there an inordinately larger number of Slytherins among the new students? Perhaps the Slytherin boys' dormitory would fill up with the sons and grandsons of unpleasant death eaters before they even got to "Potter". Albus cheered up slightly at the thought.

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

The flaxen-haired boy walked terribly slowly up to the front of the room. Some scattered applause was heard at the Slytherin table.

"This is going to be a no-brainer," muttered Albus, and Rose giggled. Professor Longbottom smiled a little as well.

The hat was silent for a long moment. Then it proclaimed: _"Gryffindor!"_

A murmur ran through the Great Hall.

"_What in Merlin's name_?" Professor Longbottom blinked. "Did I hear that wrong? Scorpius _Malfoy's_ in Gryffindor?"

Albus stared at the pale blond boy. Scorpius couldn't seem to believe it either. He turned and said something to the hat, but the hat did not respond. Scorpius flushed scarlet and walked hesitantly towards the Gryffindor table. Albus held his breath. How would Scorpius be received among the Gryffindors?

There was dead silence around the Gryffindor table for a few moments. But then a tall handsome boy with dreadlocks leaned forward and shook Scorpius Malfoy by the hand. "Welcome to Gryffindor, Scorpius! We are glad to have you!" The other Gryffindor students followed suit, and Albus could see that Scorpius looked slightly relieved, although he still had that look about him that Lily Luna always had right before she threw up.

"Who's he? The older Gryffindor boy with the long hair?" a small girl with long braids muttered in Albus' ear. "He seems nice."

Albus smiled weakly at her. "Oh, he is! He's my cousin, actually. His name is Fred. Fred Weasley. He's in seventh year, and he's the new Head Boy."

"Patil, Priyanka."

"That's me," whispered the girl with the braids as she headed into the Great Hall. "Oh, _please_ make it Ravenclaw or Gryffindor!"

"_Gryffindor_!" proclaimed the hat a moment later, and Priyanka broke out in a wide grin.

"Potter, Albus."

Albus walked, slightly dazed, towards the four-legged stool in front of the Great Hall. He was wondering if everyone else in the Great Hall was holding their breath just like he was, or if he just imagined it. He squeezed his eyes shut as he sat down on the wobbly stool. He could feel something descend on his head. _Gryffindor. Oh, please, please, please make me a Gryffindor! _

He jumped as a voice breathed, somewhere nearby: "Feel strongly about that, do you?" It took him a moment to realize that it was the hat speaking.

He tried to look up at the hat, but this proved difficult, since he was actually _wearing it_.

"_Please?_"

"Well... It _would _be rather amusing to have a Malfoy in Gryffindor and a Potter in Slytherin, don't you think?" The hat chuckled in his ear.

Albus began to panic. "No! No, _please, _Mr. Hat! I'll do anything - anything you want. Just _please_ don't put me in Slytherin!"

"Hm. Funny, that's what your father said. And your mother, too, coming to think of it."

"_What_?" Albus tried to peer up at the hat.

The hat laughed softly. "Bet she didn't tell anyone about that, eh? Seriously, did you just fall off the stool? Relax, you silly boy. Of course I'm not going to put you in Slytherin." The hat announced out loud: _"Gryffindor!_"

Albus almost fainted with relief. He tore the hat off and ran to the Gryffindor table, where he was greeted with cheers. He slipped into the empty seat next to Scorpius Malfoy and shot him a wide grin. After a moment, Scorpius smiled hesitantly back.

Albus turned his attention to the Sorting Hat.

"Scamander, Lorcan."

_"Ravenclaw!"_

"Scamander, Lysander."

_"Ravenclaw!"_

The frail little twins were greeted with enthusiasm at the Ravenclaw table.

"Weasley, Rose."

_"Gryffindor!"_

"Zabini, Dorian."

_"Slytherin!"_

As soon as the sorting was over, all the students turned their attention to the High Table in front of the Great Hall where the professors were sitting. A young dark-skinned wizard in magnificent red and gold robes rose to his feet. Albus recognized Lee Jordan from garden parties at his grandparents' house, the Burrow. He frowned. Wait, the new headmaster wasn't the one involved in that incident with the flying garden gnomes last summer, was he? He remembered that his grandmother had been rather upset about the whole thing, although it _had_ been rather funny...

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the young Headmaster gravely. "First, a few announcements. I'll keep it brief. The Forbidden Forest is called that for a reason, so don't be idiots. Quidditch tryouts begin next week - let Professor Wood here know if you are interested. Finally, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. That's Ted Lupin over there, the one with the turquoise hair. Don't try to get away with anything in his classes; he knows every trick in the book."

The students gazed in awe at the young man with the bright, spiky hair.

"Of course he knows every trick in the book," muttered Rose. "The headmaster _taught_ them to him..."

"That's it, I think." Lee Jordan mused for a moment. "All right, let's eat!"

The next instant, huge golden platters appeared on the tables, and the students helped themselves hungrily to roast, chicken, turkey, pork chops, sausages, pies, mashed potatoes, buttered carrots, peas, and ketchup. There was pumpkin juice and apple cider to drink, and soon everyone was eating and drinking merrily.

Well, almost everyone. Albus turned to Scorpius Malfoy, who was stabbing his chicken listlessly without eating any of it. "You all right, Malfoy?"

Scorpius stared down at his mangled chicken and nodded.

Albus pondered for a minute. Then the truth dawned on him. "Oh. Your parents probably won't be very happy about how the sorting came out, will they?" He felt a stab of pity for Scorpius; he understood only too well what the pale boy must be feeling right now.

"My parents will kill me." Scorpius' voice was a whisper. "How do I even tell them? I promised to write home every night, but I have no idea how to tell them about... _this..._" He sniffled slightly.

Albus glanced at him.

"I've still got a cold," said Scorpius quickly and blew his nose.

"Right." Albus sat in silence for a moment. Then a rather brilliant idea hit him. "Hey, Scorpius - I think I know how you can tell your parents about the sorting! Here-" He fished a piece of folded-up parchment out of his pocket. "This is a letter I drafted to my parents, telling them about _my_ sorting. I won't need it any more, since I was sorted into Gryffindor after all, but perhaps you could use parts of it. It's pretty good; I've worked hard on it for weeks. It helped me feel better, knowing that I had the letter ready, just in case...You can copy it if you want."

Scorpius read the first few lines of the letter Albus handed him. A slight shadow of a smile appeared on his pale face for a moment. "_You_ thought you would be sorted into _Slytherin?_"

Albus flushed. "Well, yeah."

Scorpius read on. "Hey, this letter is pretty good," he said slowly. "I like the part about all the four houses representing qualities that all wizards should have. And this section right here about you striving for greatness under all circumstances." He scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Yes, I think I can use this. If I replace "Mum and Dad" with "Mother and Father", "Slytherin" with "Gryffindor" and "striving for excellence" with "great courage", I think it will work." He bit thoughtfully into his chicken. "Thank you, Albus."

Albus grinned at him. "You're welcome, Scorpius."

...

_Next: A body in the Chamber of Secrets?_


End file.
